Occupiers of commercial and residential premises owe a duty of
care to the people entering their premises to take reasonable care
to protect them against injury, damage or loss attributable to the
dangerous state or condition of the premises. Occupiers often, and
in some cases are legally required to, have insurance that covers
them for public liability claims of this nature. This means that
more often than not public liability claims are made against
insurance companies.
The occupier is the person in occupation or control of the
property, which is usually either the landlord or the tenant.
Landlords that do not occupy their premises are only liable for any
loss or damage caused by their failure to properly maintain and
repair the premises. Where the landlord's duty finishes, the
tenant's duty usually begins.
